Novell shares more specifics on patents it is selling to Microsoft, Apple

All About Microsoft posted a news story that according to a January 14 filing with the Security and Exchange Commission, Novell is selling off 800-plus of its management, security, identity and collaboration software patents to a consortium of tech companies, including Microsoft

CPTN Holdings is a Delaware company created by Microsoft, Apple, EMC and Oracle. CPTN was organized by Microsoft, and is paying $450 million in cash for the Novell patents.

According to the new SEC proxy, the patents in question “relate to enterprise-level computer systems management software, enterprise-level file management and collaboration software in addition to patents relevant to our identity and security management business.”